HARTFORD, Conn. - The Trinity College women's squash team are heading into the College Squash Association (CSA) National Team (Howe Cup) Championships with a record of 13-1 after blanking the Tufts University Jumbos to earn the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Championship title for the 15th consecutive season. This year's three-year event will be held at Harvard University from Friday, February 25 to Sunday, February 27.  The Bantams, coached by Wendy Bartlett (38th Season)  are the No. 2 seed in the field and will open against No. 7-seeded University of Virginia in a quarterfinal on Friday at 3 p.m. 

The Howe Cup consists of the top eight teams in intercollegiate squash in a three-round, single elimination tournament. If Trinity pulls out a win on Friday, the Bantams will advance to the CSA Semifinals against either No. 3-seeded Princeton University or No. 6-seeded Drexel University at 1 p.m. on Saturday with the Howe Cup Finals happening the next day at noon.  The other matchups in the Howe Cup Quarterfinals are top-seeded Harvard University vs. No. 8-seeded University of Pennsylvania and No. 4-seeded Columbia University vs. No. 5-seeded Yale University.  The Bantams, who finished fourth in the previous Howe Cup in 2020, are seeking their first National title since 2014.

Trinity has a combine individual record of 107-19 in its 14 matches this year. Senior tri-captain Nadiia Usenko (Kiev, Ukraine) has been perfect this winter with a 14-0 record, upping her career mark to 46-8, while rookie Janna El Ashmawy (Cairo, Egypt) is 8-0 in her first collegiate season. Rookie Lujan Palacios (Asuncion, Paraguay) has been fantastic in her debut season, going 13-1, while sophomore Madeleine Hylland (Baerum, Norway) is 12-2 after missing her first year due to the pandemic. Senior Sahari Lopez (Zapopan, Mexico), a two-time All-American, is 9-1, and juniors Nanna Carleke (Karlskrona, Sweden) and Lily Taylor-French (Fano, Italy) are 14-5 between them.  Three stellar newcomers have taken up the top three positions on the Trinity ladder, led by first-year Malak Moustafa (Alexandria, Egypt) who is 10-3 at the top of the lineup.  Classmate Jana Safy (Cairo, Egypt) is 9-4 at the second position and sophomore Nouran Youssef (Smouha, Egypt) is 7-3.